Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for teachers

The British Council’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for teachers describes the professional practices that are considered relevant, along with professional qualifications, to promoting good teaching across contexts, particularly in public sector primary and secondary schools. The framework recognises the need for teachers to be lifelong learners, and can be used at any point in your teaching career as a tool to enable you to understand and plan your own development. 

Download the CPD Framework for teachers

Watch 'An introduction to the CPD Framework for teachers’

Who is the framework for?   

The framework is intended for English language teachers and subject teachers who teach through the medium of English. The framework can also be used by teacher educators and school leaders in their support of teachers.    

How you use the framework depends on where and who you are teaching, and whether you are teaching face-to-face, in a hybrid/blended context or exclusively online. For example, a teacher teaching a small monolingual class online might focus on different practices compared to a teacher teaching a large class face-to-face in a remote, resource-constrained, multilingual context.    

How is the framework organised?  

The framework consists of 11 professional practices that provide a description of knowledge, skills, behaviours and attributes that you can develop and put into practice in your context. You can start anywhere on the framework, depending on the areas you wish to develop at a particular point in time.    

The professional practices are grouped in the following way.  

Subject knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and the knowledge base for each professional practice:  

• Knowing the subject  

Professional practices that inform the decisions you make about teaching and learning in relation to where you are working, who you are teaching and how you see yourself as a teacher now and in the future:  

• Understanding my context  
• Understanding my learners 
• Understanding and developing my professional identity 

Professional practices that describe general teaching and learning processes:   

• Planning lessons and courses   
• Managing the lesson 
• Assessing learning 

Cross-cutting professional practices:   

• Using digital technologies 
• Using inclusive practices  
• Using multilingual practices 
• Using 21C skills/core skills 

All TeachingEnglish professional development resources for teachers are aligned to the professional practices and professional development levels in the framework. 

Download the CPD Framework for teachers